Gold alloy wires currently used in microelectronics have limited electrical and mechanical properties due to elemental alloy addition limitations. Reduction in size of microelectronic designs is constrained by a narrow range of pad and die geometries because of these alloy property limitations. For example, wire currently available for use in microelectronics is limited to a wire bondable length of 100 times the diameter of the wire. Lengths greater than 100 times the diameter of the wire will result in the wire slumping under its own weight, which is a result of the low strength of the material used to produce the wire. As a result, wire thicknesses cannot currently be reduced without simultaneously reducing the maximum bondable length of the wire. Conversely, the maximum bondable length of the wire cannot be increased without increasing the wire thickness.
Consequently, a gold alloy wire having sufficient strength to allow a wire diameter reduction from the commercially available thicknesses (0.00100-0.00125 inches) while maintaining currently achievable bondable wire lengths would be a significant improvement in the art.